Johnathan Paoli
It’s two days before the deadline to elect a new Ekurhuleni Mayor yet there is still uncertainty over who will succeed axed Mayor Sivuyile Ngodwana after a council meeting to elect his successor was postponed last week.
Ekurhuleni Council Speaker Tshivhenga did not supply details on the reasons for the delay but said that unforeseen circumstances had caused the postponement of the council meeting to elect a new Mayor.
Gauteng Cooperative Governance MEC Mzi Khumalo said the political gimmicks were not helpful, as they took focus away from service delivery and that last week’s postponed sitting should be seen as a failed attempt at electing new leadership.
“Where matters stand, they have already made themselves candidates for Section 139, which is dissolution, because if all of those processes as envisaged by the Municipal Structures Act are not being fulfilled, I will have no option but to dissolve the municipality,” Khumalo said.
The DA acknowledged Khumalo’s pronouncement that Ekurhuleni’s Council has become a candidate for dissolution.
Former mayor and DA leader in the metro Tania Campbell called for the dissolution of the Council and said that no number of motions of no confidence or re-elections of Executive Mayors could save the failing state of Ekurhuleni.
The ANC is expected to endorse its chief whip and regional chairperson Jongizizwe Dlabathi for Mayor, with the ruling party repeatedly arguing that it must be given a chance to govern because it occupies the majority of the seats in the council and has the most experience in governance.
The Speaker’s office said that a new date for the council meeting and the election of a new Mayor is yet to be communicated.
Ngodwana was removed after a motion of no-confidence in his leadership was tabled last month and voted for by the majority in the council.
ActionSA initiated the motion against Ngodwana while the DA filed a motion against Tshivhenga, accusing her of shielding EFF counselors involved in a previous altercation.
However, the meeting faced further disruptions as the ANC called for a caucus, delaying proceedings and intensifying debates over the meeting’s agenda.
The metro is currently run by a coalition between the ANC, EFF and other smaller parties, including the African Independent Congress (AIC).
It is reported that the ANC and the EFF are still in negotiations over the exact terms of the new election of an executive mayor for the metro.
INSIDE METROS
